Annapolis’ arts scene will be front and center during Annapolis Arts Week, June 3-11. Kicking off with the June 2-3 Annapolis Irish Festival and culminating with the newly revamped Arts and Wine Festival at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on June 10-11, the nine-day event is a microcosm of the rich and dynamic visual and performing arts scene that’s alive and well in Annapolis.

A collaborative effort of Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County (VAAAC), the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, the Annapolis-based Symmetry Agency and members of the destination’s arts community, Annapolis Arts Week makes it easy for area residents and visitors to immerse themselves in the arts. As VAAAC President and CEO Connie Del Signore sees it, “Annapolis Arts Week provides a snapshot in time of depth and breadth of Annapolis’s thriving arts and entertainment scene. Individuals who visit our Annapolis Arts Week website are likely to recognize events they’ve come to know and love over the years. Art lovers visiting Annapolis any time of the year are likely to come up with the same happy conclusion, ‘It’s easy to get an arts’ fix in Annapolis!’”

More than four months in the making, Annapolis Arts Week got its start when VAAAC Chief Marketing Officer Frank DiVenti and Symmetry Agency principal Ben Isenberg brainstormed about ways of generating headlines for the City’s arts scene. Since Isenberg was already working with City Dock Productions’ Jim Barthold to rebrand the Arts and Wine Festival. DiVenti proposed using the veteran event as the anchor for a weeklong celebration of the arts.

The Symmetry Agency is located within the Arts District on West Street. As principals of the company, Ben Isenberg and Darin Gilliam wanted to give back to the community they work in and love. They volunteered their time to bring arts groups and neighborhood associations together to float the idea of an umbrella event. Attendees were invited to take stock of their upcoming events, exhibitions, gallery openings, performance schedules, etc. and submit them for inclusion on the Annapolis Arts Week website.

VAAAC will promote the event via social media, digital ads, print and radio in the Baltimore and DC markets. Visitors to the Annapolis Arts Week website will find a complete listing of the festivals, block parties, live music, performing arts, gallery exhibits, and classes.

Individuals in the mood for a festival, can enjoy three stages of Irish music, food and culture at the June 2-3 Annapolis Irish Festival. The June 4th First Sunday Arts Festival invites arts lovers to browse the works of more than 130 local artists and crafters. The Maryland Federation of Art’s Paint Annapolis takes center stage June 4-11 featuring plein air painters from Annapolis and around the world.

The June 10-11 Arts and Wine Festival at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium features a lot that’s new. For the first time, the grand finale of the Annapolis Arts Week celebration includes two days of interactive painting as well as an Artist Pavilion presented by Arts Council of Anne Arundel County.

Art lovers who also love food can choose from a host of sweet and savory selections provided by 14 food trucks in the festival’s new Food Truck Rodeo. Last-but-not-least, the event will feature selections from 25 Maryland wineries and music by eleven local bands.

VAAAC’s Del Signore says teamwork made the event possible. “Our neighborhood associations and arts community rallied behind the volunteer leadership of Ben Isenberg and Darin Gilliam to showcase the first-class arts scene Annapolis has to offer.”

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